Susceptible to love, hooked on cocaine, Steven Deitz's Sherlock Holmes is not quite the cool-headed thinking machine one expects.
Adapted from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and William Gilette's Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure, the show opens with Watson (a confident Nathan Pease), married and back to practicing medicine, summoned to join Holmes (spot-on Luke Hamilton) in one last caper. Holmes, having targeted master criminal Moriarty (Nathan Thompson), has begun receiving threats on his life. But to Watson's bewilderment, rather than follow through on his plan to stop Moriarty, Holmes becomes embroiled in another case involving stunning opera singer Irene Adler (Elizabeth Macdougald). As events accelerate, Holmes' interest in Adler's case becomes increasingly clear.
While Deitz's adaptation, watchable and clever, begins to lag towards the end of the first act, overall it's nicely paced. Fluid scene changes and smart use of space contribute to Adventure's tightness. Overall, the cast is more than competent, maintaining their accents and demonstrating apt comedic timing as well as an understanding of the genre. Thompson's Moriarty is the quintessential villain, complete with menacingly deliberate speech and a walking stick, and Pease and Hamilton have good chemistry and unleash fast-paced dialogue with ease.
On the whole, Idle Muse Theatre, dedicated to redefining classical theatrical modes and methods, meets their goal with this steady production.
Reviewed by Centerstage!
Map it